The Matilda effect is a speculated bias against acknowledging the achievements of women scientists whose work is attributed to their male colleagues. This phenomenon was first described by suffragist and abolitionist Matilda Joslyn Gage (1826–1898) in her essay, "Woman as Inventor" (first published as a tract in 1870 and in the North American Review in 1883). The term Matilda effect was coined in 1993 by science historian Margaret W. Rossiter.[1][2]
Rossiter provides several examples of this effect. Trotula (Trota of Salerno), a 12th-century Italian woman physician, wrote books which, after her death, were attributed to male authors. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century cases illustrating the Matilda effect include those of Nettie Stevens,[3] Lise Meitner, Marietta Blau, Rosalind Franklin, and Jocelyn Bell Burnell.
The Matilda effect was compared to the Matthew effect, whereby an eminent scientist often gets more credit than a comparatively unknown researcher, even if their work is shared or similar.[4][5]
- ^ Rossiter, Margaret W. (1993). "The Matthew/Matilda effect in science". Social Studies of Science. 23 (2). London, UK: 325–341. doi:10.1177/030631293023002004. ISSN 0306-3127. S2CID 145225097.
- ^ Flegal, Katherine M. (21 August 2022). "A female career in research". Annual Review of Nutrition. 42 (1): annurev–nutr–062220-103411. doi:10.1146/annurev-nutr-062220-103411. ISSN 0199-9885. PMID 35363538. S2CID 247866328.
- ^ Resnick, Brian (7 July 2016). "Nettie Stevens discovered XY sex chromosomes. She didn't get credit because she had two X's". Vox. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ Rossiter, Margaret W. (1993). "The Matthew Matilda Effect in Science". Social Studies of Science. Vol. 23, no. 2. pp. 325–341. ISSN 0306-3127. JSTOR 285482.
- ^ Dominus, Susan (October 2019). "Women scientists were written out of history. It's Margaret Rossiter's lifelong mission to fix that". Smithsonian Magazine. Vol. 50, no. 6. p. 48.